Fashola stated this in a statement he personally signed and sent in from Zimbabwe where he is currently attending the 35th Annual General Meeting of the Shelter Afrique.
He said it was regrettable that Senator Goje would seek to trivialize the issues he raised about the unilateral slashing of the budgetary allocation to key national infrastructure by the National Assembly.
According to him, the Senator’s reference to the patriotism of legislators should not be spoken but demonstrated as regards his calls for a more developmental budgeting approach.
Explaining this further, Fashola said: “In this context, it is left for Nigerians to then decide whether budgeting for constituency roads is more patriotic than budgeting to complete the Kano-Maiduguri Road that connects 5 states, the Lagos-Ibadan Road that connects 3 states and helps to move food, imported goods and fuel across the country; or the 2nd Niger Bridge that connects the East and West geopolitical zones of at least 11 states together.
“I will also leave Nigerians to judge whether it is more patriotic to budget for the Mambilla Power Project that will contribute to more power across Nigeria or reduce the budget to build street lights in legislative constituencies.”
Reiterating his respect for the Parliament as a house where very vigorous debates about development should take place, Fashola advised Goje to acquire the temperament for such debate and disagreement.
“Let me reiterate that I see parliament as a house where very vigorous debates about development should take place and it is important for Goje to acquire the temperament of debate and disagreement, he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment